Philippine finance chief spurns calls for early rate hike

MANILA: Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, a member of the central bank’s Monetary Board, said there’s no need for an out-of-cycle interest-rate increase as policy makers are focusing on the longer-term inflation outlook.

“We have decided not to have an off-cycle rate hike before September 27,” Dominguez told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door inflation briefing in the Senate on Friday. “We have to take a long-term view, because if not, every little bump becomes a major crisis.”